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Abstract

Our research aimed to study the ongoing phenomena of cross-border displacement of the Ukrainian population resulting from the Russian aggression that started on the 24th of February 2022. In the first stage of this research, we managed to get the opinions of over 500 refugees with a focus on their needs, concerns, plans, and expectations. Collected data also allowed a reconstruction of a particular social social-demographic profile of fleeing Ukrainian refugees. The preliminary outcomes are presented in the report. To cite this report: Isański J., Michalski M.A., Nowak M., Sereda V., Vakhitova H. (2022): Social reception and inclusion of refugees from Ukraine. UKREF Research report 1(2022).
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
1
This research project was financed by the funds at the disposal of the rector’s authorities of the University
of Adam Mickiewicz, the dean’s authorities of the Faculties: Sociology, and the Faculty of Anthropology
and Cultural Studies of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. The field research was
organized with the cooperation of The School Board of Education in Poznań and the Department of Social
Policy in the Wielkopolska Voivodeship Office in Poznań.
SOCIAL RECEPTION AND
INCLUSION OF REFUGEES
FROM UKRAINE
Edited by:
Jakub Isański, Marek Nowak, Michał A. Michalski (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland)
Victoria Sereda (Imre Kertesz Kolleg Jena, Germany; Institute of Ethnology National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine)#
Hanna Vakhitova (South Denmark University, Denmark; Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine)
Graduate and post-graduate students who volunteered in the field research: Włodzimierz Chwiałkowski,
Kaili Dembek, Halina Herasym, Dominik Kamiński, Jędrzej Kozak, Aleksandra Sternalska
Reviewer: prof. Michał Nowosielski (Warsaw University)
To cite this report: Isański J., Michalski M.A., Nowak M., Sereda V., Vakhitova H. (2022): Social reception
and inclusion of refugees from Ukraine. UKREF Research report 1(2022).
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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1. Why do refugees
matter?
The issue of refugees is one of the permanent
elements of historical reflection on the mass
movement of people or the phenomenon of
migration. One can assume that movements of
refugees differ from the phenomenon of migration
in two factors: the potentially temporary nature
and the impossibility of treating the refugee in
terms of purely voluntary activity. Refugee
movement and displacement are types of forced
migration a notion emphasizing involuntary
reasons for fleeing. Oddly enough, the relationship
between the notions of a forced migrant (refugee
or a displaced person) can be included in the
discussion between the realistic and the nominalist
position (Hein 1993), while the first context
provides the basis for in-depth empirical studies.
The refugee movement takes place under the
influence of events over which individuals, and
even entire communities, have little impact,
although it is usually a manifestation of acting in
opposition to its omission, especially when the
reason for leaving one’s country is „well-founded
fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social
group or political opinion…” (Hen 1993: 44).
According to UNHCR (The United Nations
Refugee Agency) definition: “A refugee is someone
who has been forced to flee their country because
of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a
well-founded fear of persecution for race,
religion, nationality, political opinion, or
membership in a particular social group. Most
likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to
do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious
violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing
their countries”.
In other words: leaving the country of origin is a
consequence of a well-founded belief in an
existential threat, not a choice and expression of
the right to choose, so often emphasised in
migration studies. The concept is thus inherent in
reflection on the subject of limited, but still
present subjectivity, and memorable, often
unpredictable events. Finally, the status of
refugees, as described above, is an element of
sociological or political perspective. It is different
in the eyes of the law (Łukasiewicz et al. 2022). In
the latter case, Ukrainians primarily are not
refugees but people subject to temporary
protection.
Introduction:
Our r esearch aimed to study the ong oing
phenomena of cross-border displacement of the
Ukrainian population resulting from#the Russian
aggression that started on the 24th of February
2022.#
In the first stage of this research, we managed to
get the opinions of over 500 refugees with a focus
on their needs, concerns, plans, and expectations.
Collected data also allowed a reconstruction of
social-demographic profiles of fleeing Ukrainian
refugees. The preliminary outcomes are presented
in the report. The follow-up stage envisages in-
depth interviews sampling adults and children
who attended the surveyed schools with a
substantial presence of newcomers.##
The outcomes will be used to produce a policy
report helping to understand this unexpected
situation and propose some possible scenarios.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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Our Ukrainian guests enjoy protection outside the
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, choosing, for the most part, temporary
protection activated by the Council of the EU and
valid throughout the UE and, in parallel, making
use of the special protection introduced in the
Polish so-called Special Act (Act of 12 March 2022
on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection
with armed conflict on the territory of that
country). Their status and the need to leave their
country is a direct consequence of the inability of
their country of origin to protect them in the face
of a non-inflicted armed conflict. The use of the
term refugee is therefore descriptive, not legal.#
The subject of our interest are the consequences of
an armed conflict: Russia’s unprovoked armed
attack in Ukraine on the civilian population forced
to escape. Therefore, the traditionally used
understanding of a refugee as a person fleeing
political persecution becomes much less essential.
At the same time, the fear of losing one’s life due to
military operations comes as a primary motive.
Regardless of the reasons for the mass movement
of people (whether they result from natural, social,
or political conditions, whether they are a choice
or a choice to a lesser extent), they strongly affect
the dynamics of rooted communities, changing the
population proportions, influencing the economic
conditions.#
In the temporal perspective, the refuge influence
the culture and way of thinking of the receiving
communities. An essential factor determining the
social dynamics is the specificity of relations
construc ted on the axi s: refu gee - set tled
community - host country, this axis being
influenced by distinctiveness of cultures, and more
precisely, on the scope of differences, a crucial
element of which is the area of communication. In
the presented results of the study, the
aforementioned cultural context seems to be
particularly important and gives rise to greater
openness and general agreement on assistance.#
From the perspective of the refugees themselves,
the reasons for leaving are probably much more
important than the arguments of cultural
proximity to the country you flee to. The theme of
coping in a new place makes its appearance a little
later when the trauma of the dramatic experiences
subsides. The critical issue is the dynamics of
taking root in a new place (even if it is only
tem p o rary ) , w h ich in volv e s t h e m a ter i a l
dimension related to the base of Maslow’s pyramid
of needs (including accommodation issues, job
opportunities, and the job market in general).
Moving from the problems of existential
experience to the difficulties of functioning in a
new place is part of the dynamics of the anchoring
process, where the actors are the refugees. Our
research aims to examine current hierarchies of
needs and refugees’ human capital that might help
to overcome some of these issues faster.
We consciously avoid the category of refugees’
social integration (in favour of the concept of
anchoring, Grzymała-Kazłowska 2015), accepting
their right to consider their stay outside the
country of origin as temporary. Therefore, we will
not ask questions about the effectiveness of
integra tion with th e host socie ty o r even
acculturation. Thus, we leave it to the person’s
individual choice to what extent and how they
w a n t t o p ro ce ed w i t h t h e i r c h a n g i n g
understanding of integration level they aspire to.
Therefore, the change in the attitude toward war
refugees was highly significant. However, it is
doubtful whether this change will continue when
Russia’s war in Ukraine ends.#We could suggest
here a significant change at the level of public
discussion in relation to, for example, refugees and
migrants who illegally crossed the border from
Belarus before the outbreak of the war. The
problem here lies primarily in the widespread
sociological understanding of refugees at the level
of public discourse. It is much clearer when the
war is taking place just beyond our borders, rather
than referring to less comprehensible legal norms
and rights.
What do we know
about us: attitudes of
the host society
towards refugees
(data from Poland)
„Poles are unanimous in the matter of accepting
refugees from Ukraine” - this is the quotation
from the CBOS report from the study carried out
in mid-March 2022 (No. 38/2022: 8). 94% of
respondents were convinced that Poland should
accept refugees. Thus, support for accepting
refugees had increased by nearly 40 percentage
points since the last survey in June 2018, when it
ranged from 50 to 62% over ten years with slight
fluctuations.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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…and them: what do
we know about
Ukrainian refugees
on the basis of the
already published
research reports?
According to the Polish Border Guard data, from
February 24, the day of the beginning of the war,
until April 25, the Polish-Ukrainian border was
crossed by 2,944 million refugees from Ukraine.
However, the general data on border crossings
does not give us a precise number because some
people might be commuting. It does not give us an
answer about the distribution of refugees within
the country’s territory. It also leaves the unknown:
how many of the refugees remained in Poland, or
where did they stay?
Th e Un ion of P o l ish Metropo l i ses ( U P M)
published one of the most reliable data on the
distribution of refugees in the largest Polish cities
(Urban Hospitality: Unprecedented Growth,
Challenges and Opportunities. a Report on
Ukrainian Refugees in the Largest Polish Cities).
Importantly, unlike standard diagnostic tools,
refugee declarations were not used here. To collect
data, this organisation used IT tools used in
marketing, including logged-in mobile phones
with Ukrainian SIM cards. The conclusions of the
UPM study point to the specificity of the relocation
of refugees from Ukraine within Poland. It is
probably not surprising that the places of refugees
are m ainly l arge urban cent res with both
residential infrastructure and a developed labour
market. What is extremely significant in the case of
the specificity of the Polish response to the refugee
crisis, non-governmental organisations and private
individuals were the quickest to react by creating
ad hoc forms of support and launching various
forms of assistance: from direct support to
organising collections of needed resources to
logistics and providing shelter. Here, the social
infrastructure of urban metropolitan areas has
proven to be extremely important, as has the
existence of a developed sector of non-
governmental aid organisations.
The level of support for receiving refugees
remained relatively high; nevertheless, the
phenomenon sparked lively discussions and
fuelled the dynamics of the political dispute. It was
particularly evident when people were asked about
war refugees in armed events outside Europe
(CBOS Report No. 111/2021). In such a situation,
the support for accepting refugees was
significantly lower, and from the second half of
2015, it did not exceed 50%, reaching 42% at the
end of 2021.
It seems that the cultural proximity of Poles and
Ukrainians and the presence of refugees and
migrants from Ukraine in Poland since the events
of 2014 are of significant importance. The survey
carried out in mid-2018 (CBOS Report No.
87/2018) collected answers to the question: „do
you think Poland should accept refugees from
countries affected by armed conflicts?” and a
question about accepting refugees from Ukraine.
Support for affirmative answers to the first
question in June 2018 was 22%, and for the
second - 56%. Similar questions were asked for
example to the Czechs; the answers revealed two
facts: on the one hand, a comparable level of
affirmative responses; on the other, significant
fluctuations in opinions among Poland’s south-
western neighbors (over 12 months, support for
accepting war refugees - from outside Europe
increased from 27% to 38% ). This suggests that
attitudes to refugees are so complex that they need
to be considered in the context of the specificities
of particular societies.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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How did we collect
data?
The study aims to diagnose attitudes and capture
their changes due to anchoring refugees in a new
place of residence for several months of 2022,
from February 24th. We assume that it is the
dynamics and effectiveness of the anchoring
process that determine the attitudes of refugees, as
well as the specificity of their fears. In this report,
we present the results of the first stage of this
research.#
In the CAPI Computer Assisted Personal
Interviews survey conducted using Qualtrics XM
software, 523 completed questionnaires were
obtained in one of the three language versions
(413 in Ukrainian, 77 in Russian, and 42 in
English). Trained interviewers used Computer
Assisted Personal Interviews to collect responses
at the reception points for Ukrainian refugees
from 30/03/2022 to 30/04/2022. The refugees
and volunteers’ networks also distributed the
information about these questionnaires. The
questionnaire included questions about the
essential needs, concerns, and plans related to the
place of stay, education of children, or goals
related to professional activity. The respondents
also had the opportunity to present their language
proficiency, professional qualifications, and the
ability to document them.
The first stage of the study was carried out in April
2022 among refugees from Ukraine who reached
European countries after the beginning of Russia’s
aggression. The primary research tool was an
online questionnaire translated into three
languages: English, Ukrainian, and Russian. The
interviews were conducted in the three target
countries - Poland, Germany, and Ireland. The
largest share of the interviews were conducted in
Poznań, with the help of interviewers and with the
use of tablets connected to the Internet at the
point of assistance (at the Poznań International
Fair - refugees reception and aid centre), in
cooperation with the Wielkopolska Voivodeship
Office in Poznań. The sample selection was non-
probabilistic, limiting the possibilities of simple
generalisations but allowing to formulate
conclusions
referring to
a specific
group of
refugees
who found
themselves
in a parti-
cular place
and time.
2. METHODOLOGY OF THE# RESEARCH#
As highlighted in the UPM report, the local
government of major cities became heavily
involved in the emergency response process,
offering their infrastructure for the needs of
refugees, but also organisational resources. Based
on data from the border crossings, the dynamics
of the refugee influx were established, which on 6
and 7 March reached a level of about 140,000
people per day, to stabilize at the end of March at
a level of more than 20,000 people per day, and
then steadily decrease. Based on official data, 21%
of the refugees were children. Data obtained from
the UPM investigation indicated that refugees
were staying in metropolitan areas of Warsaw
(approximately 469,000), Katowice
(approximately 303,000), Kraków
(approximately 230,000) and Gdańsk, including
the Tricity (approximately 223,000).
Although the quantitative data presented in the
study is based on the juxtaposition of research
data with official data (which raises certain
doubts in terms of its precision and
methodological assumptions), it allows us to
understand quite accurately the specificity of the
grassroots relocation of refugees, as well as to
answer the question which cities enjoy an
attractive image from the point of view of
refugees, or more precisely - the dominant group
of women who decided to leave the country
engulfed in warfare. The data from this study will
be used in the#following stages of the study for
more detailed analyses concerning directly the
specificity of the Poznań metropolitan area
concerning data from other areas.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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3. CASE STUDY
523 respondents participated in the research.
84,3% were women, and 15,7% men. 165 people
(41.45% of those who answered this question)
declared that they did not know anyone at the
place of their arrival. However, most of the
respondents have a more or less extensive network
of social relations. 23.86% of the respondents
declared that they know one person on the
premises, 27.88% know two to five people, and
only 6.75% know six people or more.
Areas of respondents’ origin (by region, ukr.
oblast) are presented on the map below. They are
defined per oblast and not particular localities
because respondents were using the biggest
nearby city to describe their place of origin. The
map shows that most refugees come from the
oblasts neighbouring intensive military
operations, but not those under the most
devastating attacks. This might indicate that the
population in the regions under immediate attack
have been trapped and cannot flee.
Most respondents filled in the questionnaires in
Poland (63,4%), 18,7% in Ireland, 13,9% in
Germany, and 4% in other countries. When asked
about possible future destinations, an absolute
majority are willing to stay in the current place of
residence, and only a tiny minority declare their
willingness to move. Of 63,4% surveyed in Poland,
58,4% claimed that they chose it as a preferred
country. Some reported a desire to move to Ireland
(the difference between those who are already
there and those who intend to visit is 1,7%), the
United Kingdom (the difference is -1,3%),
Germany (0,6%), Canada, France, Netherlands,
Sweden (c. 0,5% each). In terms of linguistic
issues, we could say that the most commonly
spoken foreign language for adults is English, with
18% declaring their level as elementary and 26% as
fluent; Polish was second known - 12% (with only
3% fluent), only 5.6% adults claimed some
knowledge of German, 6,5% Italian, and 3%
French.#67% indicated the knowledge of Ukrainian
(mostly fluent), and the rest left a blank space
instead of an answer. 45% mentioned Russian
(mostly fluent), with the rest leaving a blank space
instead of an answer. The linguistic skills of
children turned out to be even worse. However,
this might be due to their age, given the fact that
some did not have any schooling or minimal
schooling in foreign languages. 25% know English
(12% on an elementary level and 13% fluently).
There is a noticeable difference in knowledge of
Polish between adults and children – only 4% of
kids know it and practically all on a basic level.
Structure of the sample, N=523
Category
Value
Sex
Women
84,3%
Men
15,7%
Social network density
„I know one person here”
23,6%
„I know two to five people here”
27,8%
„I know six people or more here”
6,7%
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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4. RESULTS: NEEDS, CONCERNS AND
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
The respondents could choose from 15 essential
needs, of which they were to indicate the five most
important ones. The charts below show that
„finding a job”, „material assistance”, „renting a
long-term apartment”, „medical assistance”, or
„local language course” were selected as the most
important. Among the less frequently mentioned
were: finding a kindergarten or nursery for
children, medicines, temporary shelter, or
enabling contact with family and relatives who
remained in Ukraine. These responses show the
proactive orientation of the respondents. Few (32)
of them were interested in traveling to another
country.
In addition to various forms of immediate help,
they are interested in actively looking for a job,
place of residence, or the possibility of continuing
education of children or caring for the youngest.
The answers to the following questions show that
most of them are already actively looking for a job
in their current place of residence.
Pic. 1. Responses to the question: „What are your
most important needs?” Respondents could
choose up more than one from the list of 15
needs. (Responses in numbers)
Finding a job
Material assistance – clothes, shoes, food
Renting a long-term apartment
Medical assistance
Local (Polish/German/other) language course
School / kindergarten / nursery for children
Medication
Temporary shelter, overnight stay
Possibility of contact with relatives remaining in Ukraine
Possibility for other relatives to join me
Legal assistance in legalizing the stay
Psychological assistance
Possibility of travelling to another country
physiotherapy, rehabilitation
Something else: …
Opportunity to practice my religion
12
21
30
32
48
76
91
93
110
121
181
235
237
280
286
350
At the same time, the biggest number of Ukrainian
refugees decide to stay in Poland. This might pose
a challenge to the Polish schooling system in the
future, as well as the knowledge of other foreign
languages: French 1,7%, German 3,6%, Italian
3,6%.
The refugees came with a broad spectrum of skills
and qualifications. There are representatives of all
professions; several persons reported multiple
occupational categories. In particular, 14% of
respondents are entrepreneurs or IT specialists.
Each fourth individual had previously held a
position of a scientist, engineer, health, or
education specialist. Many interviewees are blue
collars or possess service skills that have been in
high demand in Poland during the last few years.
Specifically, 10% of refugees have HoReCa-related
skills. About 16% of respondents worked as
personal caregivers or domestic staff. Drivers,
farmers, construction and sales workers make up
19% of the case study.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
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Pic. 2. Responses to the question:
„What are your most important
concerns?” Respondents could choose
up more than one from the list of 8
concerns. (Responses in numbers)
Fear for the fate of relatives who stayed in Ukraine
Fear for the fate of my homeland
Lack of money and livelihood
I don't know when I will be able to come back
No knowledge of the local language in the place where I am now
Fear that I would not have a proper access to medical support
I don't know how people will receive us here
Something else
0
100
200
300
400
34
62
190
261
266
289
339
368
The questionnaire also asked about the sources of
concerns. The respondents were asked to indicate
the five most important, which are as follows:
„lack of money”, „poor knowledge of the language
of the host country”, „fear of how people will
receive me”, „uncertainty about the fate of
relatives who stayed at home”, „uncertainty about
the possibility of returning home” and, finally,
„uncertainty about the future of Ukraine attacked
by Russia”.#
The following responses were registered: lack of
money (289 responses), uncertainty about the
future and the possibility of returning to the
homeland (266 responses), as well as poor
language skills in the host country (261 responses;
it is worth noting here that this problem was also
pointed out by students involved in collecting
empirical data). The respondents were also
concerned about the lack of access to medical care
(190 people). Oddly enough, the least frequently
chosen answer was the concern about how the
locals would receive them - only 62 respondents
indicated it.
The answers provided by the respondents show
that their worries mainly concern the fate of their
relatives remaining in Ukraine, in their places of
origin - this answer was chosen by 368 of them. A
similar, although a slightly smaller, number of
responses concerned fears about the fate of
Ukraine (339 people chose this answer).#
Our research shows that most of the refugees we
interviewed assessed various forms of assistance
available to them in the host countries. The
common denominator connecting all our
interlocutors, regardless of their country of
residence, is the feeling of temporariness,
uncertainty, and fear for their own and their loved
ones’ future. However, the countries receiving
refugees, especially their citizens, partially address
these concerns and needs.
Positive statements about the host countries are
dominant among the respondents. Over 78% of
the respondents assessed the conditions they
encountered in the countries receiving refugees
„very positively” and another 16.22% „positively”.
Only 3.98% evaluate them as „neither good nor
bad”, and slightly more than 1% as „bad” or „very
bad”. This proves that, regardless of the
unpredictability of the whole situation and the
massive number of refugees, the vast majority
have a sense of support and help in their places of
residence.
Published May 11th, 2022 UKREF Research Report 1(2022)
9
Conclusions:
The results we presented constitute the first part of
an international research project, the justification
of which is the unique situation of an influx of
refugees from Ukraine invaded by Russian troops.
Out of fear for their own lives, millions of people
have been forced to leave their places of residence
and look for a safer environment. This
spontaneous influx of people to neighbouring
countries was met with a response from state
agencies, organisations, and institutions. Finally,
ordinary people offered their support and help,
volunteering with free shelter in their own
residence, assistance in finding a job, and many
other forms. In Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and
Romania, and other countries, refugees try to
adapt to this situation and are engaged in various
states of mutual aid and support, and are also
vividly interested in the fate of their fighting
country. We don’t know how long this situation
will last. However, we aim to describe it.
This report is a summary of the first part of the
UKREF_2022 research project. In the next ones,
which we intend to publish in the summer and
autumn of 2022, we will present the results of in-
depth research among refugees who have anchored
their live in Poland, Germany and Ireland, and
other receiving countries for a longer time.#
We hope that the occurence of our common fate
and shared experiences will allow us to get to know
and understand each other better.
In terms of formulating a discussion - based on the
collected material - the exploratory nature of the
research should be emphasised, which explains the
wide range of questions posed. The results
obtained confirm the observation formulated in the
introduction about the hierarchy of needs in most
cases of female refugees. The dominating
conditions can be inscribed in an elementary,
albeit consecutive, anchoring stage. The issue of
finding a job and obtaining social stability comes to
the fore. This is followed by health issues and the
issue of communication. The relatively distant
temporary shelter and accommodation position
suggests that there were also people at an utterly
preliminary stage of refugeehood within the study
group. Refugees’ specific psychological and social
condition is clearly defined by the awareness of
leaving loved ones and their previous life behind in
Ukraine. Only in third place come concerns about
the here and now (material security issues). At this
point, the difference between refugees and
migration can probably be seen.
The formulated conclusions, which are necessarily
quite general, suggest the need for a closer look at
the phenomenon of war refugees, where the
trauma of departure overlaps with the trauma of
the refugee condition in the receiving country. Just
as needs relate to the „new here and now”, fear
relates to the people and places that had to be left
behind. The socio-professional description of
refugees, which suggests an extensive range of
skills and competencies, requires separate
reflection, but this would need more in-depth
analysis due to the specificity of the non-
probabilistic sampling.#
Although critical and tragic, this entire refugee
situation can also be seen as the basis for building
friendly neighbourly relations. Direct knowledge of
people, their dramatic fate, and the willingness to
deal with this situation can be helpful in rebuilding
the country’s infrastructure destroyed by war and
solving many other problems, the sources of which
lay in mutual hostility and ignorance in the past.
The first wave of refugees and social responses in
host countries show the enormous potential of
human kindness, hospitality, and a willingness to
communicate.
10
Refugees and
volunteers -
encounters
photographed
All the photographs presented
in this report were taken in
March and April 2022 in
Poznań. By the end of this
month, over 100 thousand
refugees had arrived to the
city. They were granted
various forms of material aid
and symbolic support.
Volunteers took a substantial
part in these actions - citizens
of Poznań: youths,
pensioners, scouts, charities
and Church organizations.
Ph o t o g raph below: A d a m
Mickiewicz monument in
Poznań
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Contexts, Sociology 1–16. DOI: 10.1177/0038038518771843
Wojdat Marcin, Cywiński Paweł, (2022) Miejska gościnność: wielki
wzrost, wyzwania i szanse. Raport o uchodźcach z Ukrainy w
największych polskich miastach. [Urban Hospitality. Urban
hospitality: great growth, challenges and opportunities. Report on
refugees from Ukraine in the largest Polish cities]. Centrum Analiz i
Badań. Unia Metropolii Polskich im. Pawła Adamowicza.#
CBOS Research Reports:
87/2018, Stosunek Polaków i Czechów do przyjmowania uchodźców
[Attitude of Poles and Czechs towards receiving refugees], Bożewicz
Marta (ed.)
111/2021, Opinia publiczna wobec uchodźców i sytuacji migrantów na
granicy z Białorusią [Public opinion on refugees and the situation of
migrants on the border with Belarus], Feliksiak Michał (ed.)
38/2022, Polacy wobec rosyjskiej inwazji na Ukrainę [Poles towards
Russian invasion to Ukraine], Feliksiak Michał, Roguska Beata (eds.)
Photographs: Jakub Isański, Jadwiga Isańska, all rights reserved
... After providing a sense of security, the search for space for social relations and self-fulfilment in the new place begins. The transition from the problems of existential experience to the difficulties of functioning in a new place is a part of the dynamics of the process whose subjects are refugees (Isański et al., 2022). ...
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With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the lives of a huge number of families have irrevocably changed, forcing them to leave everything behind and flee their country. Juxtaposing this with the fact of raising a child for whom constancy and repetition are the most important framework for functioning, makes an already difficult experience much deeper and more traumatic. The aim of the article is to analyze the situation of parents of children with autism in the context of refugeeism and war trauma. As numerous studies show, these parents experience high stress and their well-being is reduced. Juxtaposing this with the perspective of war and refugeeism may be the basis for better listening to the needs of this group and reviewing the forms of support available in our country.
... Data from December 2022 showed that as many as 8 million war refugees from Ukraine crossed the Polish border, and 1 million stayed there (Duszczyk et al., 2023). It can be assumed that a serious armed conflict in a culturally close and relatively well-known neighboring country may be perceived as a threat to Poles and cause social support mobilization to help Ukrainian citizens who fled the war zone and those who stayed in Ukraine (Isański et al., 2022). ...
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Background In February 2022, Poland became one of the most engaged countries in accepting Ukrainian refugees. Based on the norm activation model, the study, performed during the first two weeks of the war, examines the prosocial intentions of Poles toward Ukrainians in relation to the individualizing moral foundations (Harm/Care and Fairness/Reciprocity), as well as beliefs about the obligation of individual citizens to help. Participants and procedure The study was designed to investigate the views of Poles on helping Ukrainians in times of tension. On the second day of data collection, the war in Ukraine began. Therefore, the study shows the intentions of Poles to help refugees from Ukraine in the first days of full-scale war. N = 139 people aged 18-71 from the general public participated (102 females) in an online survey distributed through social media channels. Results The results show that individual obligation belief fully mediates the effect of individualizing moral foundations on prosocial behavior intentions. Conclusions Based on the results, it could be concluded that during a refugee crisis, in line with norm activation model, highlighting personal obligation to provide support can be important to motivate people to help others in need. The effect of a sense of personal obligation is more important than the effect of an underlying individualizing morality.
... The war in Ukraine gave a new spark to the study of migration problems and encouraged to review, update, and reformat the existing data in the context of the new reality. Since Europe has not seen such a scale of refugees since the Second World War, the biggest new challenges are where to settle such a number of migrants, and how to quickly and effectively absorb refugees with their needs and concerns (Alencar, 2018;Isański et al., 2022;Staniszewski, 2022) or organize children's education (Duszczyk & Kaczmarczyk, 2022). On the other hand, the health care systems of EU countries recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic will prepare to receive an even greater flow of patients. ...
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Home The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems Living reference work entry From the Source to Destination Countries: Central and Eastern Europe on the Move (as Usual) Jakub Isański, Jaroslav Dvorak, Siim Espenberg, Michał A. Michalski, Viktoriya Sereda, Hanna Vakhitova & Julija Melnikova Living reference work entry First Online: 04 October 2023 1 Altmetric Abstract Migratory flows in Central and Eastern Europe in the twenty-first century are among the most critical factors influencing populations. Based on census data and national statistics from five CEE countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland), this article aims to present migration in the area and its current and potential future effects on the population dynamics. The recent research provides valuable information about demographic trends in the region and suggests policy implications for local policymakers. The wave of refugees and migrants from war-torn Ukraine in 2022 shows the impact of migration on the social situation in the CEE region. Over the past three decades, the area has been a sending destination; this trend has reversed in the last few years, and over 8 million migrants and war refugees have arrived in CEE.
Article
Millions of people from Ukraine have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety, protection, and assistance owing to armed conflict. This study aims to draw a parallel between the meaning and importance of the initial impact of Russian military aggression in February 2022 and the recent plight of Ukrainian refugees on Romania's territory. It is based on the results of a dedicated thematic survey of Ukrainian refugees as part of fieldwork carried out by the authors between March and April 2022 and a survey launched by the United Nations Refugee Agency in Romania between October 2022 and August 2023. The study emphasises the importance of raising awareness and building solidarity and support to counterbalance the effects of the crisis with respect to: (i) refugees in their hometowns and losses incurred; (ii) refugees' needs, help provided, and expectations; (iii) the need to integrate refugees into different fields of daily life; and (iv) a return to Ukraine.
Chapter
The world has changed after February 24, 2022. In the civilized region of Europe, one sovereign country—Russia—has launched a military attack on another sovereign country—Ukraine—with which it had formed a common state three decades ago. This previously unimaginable step inflicted enormous material losses on Ukraine and, in particular, casualties to the Ukrainian people, who, under imminent threat, were choosing to leave their country either temporarily or permanently. At the same time, however, this tragedy also raised a wave of enormous solidarity in the neighboring countries, involving local municipalities, entrepreneurs, humanitarian organizations, the churches and thousands of volunteers. This chapter focuses on such assistance within Slovakia, especially in its eastern part, with the aim of evaluating the activities of the University of Presov as one of the important actors in assisting refugees from Ukraine. Simultaneously, immediate needs, problems, as well as feelings and emotions of the Ukrainian refugees, who were lent a helping hand by the University of Presov, are evaluated by means of quantitative and qualitative methods based on a survey.
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Full-text available
This article aims to present the Ukrainian war refugees' experience. Twenty-one interviews focused on autobiographical memoirs of Ukrainian war refugees were collected during the field research project in Poland and Germany in the summer and autumn of 2022. The text aimed to point out the peculiarities of Ukrainian refugeeism in the context of its specificity related to the evolution of the phenomenon of migration and forced migration over recent years in Central Europe. The content was analyzed for the fleeing and adaptive context of personal experience. It considers social ties, including family ties, which appeared in the interviewees' statements. The studied material insights into the course of the war in Ukraine in 2022 from the perspective of civilians. It shows numerous and diverse examples of survival and adaptation activities under armed attacks, during the evacuation, border crossing, and anchoring in the places of their new residence. Due to the dominance of women in the sample, these examples can contribute to the analysis of the specificity of female migration, which differs from the previous profiles of economic migration in the region. 210 STUDIA I ANALIZY / SP Vol. 68 JAKUB ISAŃSKI, MAREK NOWAK
Article
This article focuses on how newcomers form social relations when settling in the UK, and the role of these relations in regards to their sense of belonging as well as access to resources that support integration. By bringing together the concept of social integration with scholarship on embedding and sociabilities of emplacement, the article demonstrates how a combination of serendipitous encounters, ‘crucial acquaintances’ and more enduring friendships with other migrants, co-ethnics and members of the majority population support migrants’ settlement. Drawing on two qualitative studies on migrant settlement, it shows the importance of social relations with other migrants during settlement, and subsequently critically reflects on how the notion of ‘bridging social capital’ has been used in policy discourse. By doing so, the article contends that the notion of ‘integration’ needs to reflect the social ‘unit’ into which migrants are supposed to integrate.
Article
A realist versus nominalist debate within the field of international migration questions whether refugees are fundamentally distinct from immigrants or whether the category is a social construction masking similarities with immigrants. Contemporary refugee and immigrant flows conform to patterns of the world system. However, refugee migrations are caused by changes in the nation-state. Like immigrants, refugees organize migration through social networks, but the composition of their networks and the effects of migration on social identity differ. In a host society, both populations adapt with household economic strategies that secure multiple income sources, although the state plays a greater role in the adaptation of refugees. The partial convergence of two migration forms once presumed opposite reveals general patterns in international migration and adaptation, supporting the nominalist perspective. The remaining differences suggest that refugees are primarily distinguished by their relationship to the state, thus supporting the realist perspective.
Article
The article presents the emergent concept of social anchoring. The proposed concept represents a new theoretical approach to analysing the notions of identity and social integration in contemporary increasingly super-diverse and ‘fluid’ societies. The conceptual framework of anchoring links the issues of identity, security and integration. It enables the limitations of subjectively defined identity to be overcome by allowing the inclusion of objective aspects. It focuses on the role of identity for adaptation and ways in which individuals, especially migrants, establish essential footholds in their lives in a complex and changeable society. The development of this theoretical approach can enable identification of the source(s) of socio-psychological stability which individuals need for societal integration.
War and migration: the recent influx from Ukraine into Poland and possible scenarios for the future
  • Duszczyk Maciej
  • Karczmarczyk Paweł
Duszczyk Maciej, Karczmarczyk Paweł (2022). War and migration: the recent influx from Ukraine into Poland and possible scenarios for the future, CMR Spotlight No. 4 (39), April 2022, Warsaw, https:// www.migracje.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Spotlight-APRIL-2022.pdf
Migracje i miasta w czasie kryzysu humanitarnego
  • K Łukasiewicz
  • M Nowosielski
  • M Pachocka
  • D Wach
  • K Fiałkowska
  • E Cichocka
Łukasiewicz, K., Nowosielski, M., Pachocka, M., Wach, D., Fiałkowska, K., Cichocka, E. (2022). Migracje i miasta w czasie kryzysu humanitarnego, no. 3 (38), March 2022 Special Issue 2
Miejska gościnność: wielki wzrost, wyzwania i szanse. Raport o uchodźcach z Ukrainy w największych polskich miastach. [Urban Hospitality. Urban hospitality: great growth, challenges and opportunities
  • Wojdat Marcin
  • Cywiński Paweł
Wojdat Marcin, Cywiński Paweł, (2022) Miejska gościnność: wielki wzrost, wyzwania i szanse. Raport o uchodźcach z Ukrainy w największych polskich miastach. [Urban Hospitality. Urban hospitality: great growth, challenges and opportunities. Report on refugees from Ukraine in the largest Polish cities].
Stosunek Polaków i Czechów do przyjmowania uchodźców [Attitude of Poles and Czechs towards receiving refugees
  • Centrum Analiz I Badań
Centrum Analiz i Badań. Unia Metropolii Polskich im. Pawła Adamowicza. CBOS Research Reports: 87/2018, Stosunek Polaków i Czechów do przyjmowania uchodźców [Attitude of Poles and Czechs towards receiving refugees], Bożewicz Marta (ed.)